Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MODULAR SUPPORT FOR THE FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS
OF A HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY UNIT
AND UNIT THUS OBTAINED
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a high-voltage (HT) power
supply unit, particularly for an X-ray tube in which unit all of the
high-voltage power supply functional components are contained in a
single box.
X-ray tubes comprise a cathode of the filament type which emits
a beam of electrons towards an anode. The anode, under the action of
the beam of electrons, emits a beam of X-rays. To obtain a
high-energy beam of electrons, the beam of electrons emitted by the
cathode is accelerated by a strong electric field created between the
cathode and the anode. To achieve this, the anode is raised to a
positive potential with respect to the cathode, the potential difference
between the anode and the cathode generally reaching values of
150 kV or more. These extremely high potential differences are
provided by high-voltage devices.
The functional elements of these high-voltage devices are
encased in an earthed metal box filled with an electrically insulating
and cooling liquid.
The functional elements conventionally comprise a high-ratio HT
transformer comprising primary and secondary windings, a magnetic
core, HT rectifiers and HT smoothing capacitors.
More specifically, the transformer has primary windings to which
AC voltages supplied by a power converter are applied, and secondary
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windings connected to voltage doubling rectifier circuits. The voltage
doubling/rectifer circuits of each of the secondary windings are
connected together so that their voltages are combined. By respecting
the polarity of the rectifiers, positive or negative voltages can be added
to obtain the high voltage level needed to power the X-ray tube.
The high-voltage output within the HT unit is protected by
resistors connected through the HT box cover plate to hermetically
sealed HT connectors, receptacles accommodating the connector pins
of the HT lead connecting the HT device to the X-ray tube. The HT
outputs are also connected, within the HT unit, to voltage-dividing
resistors which form the upper part of a voltage divider supplying a low
voltage which is proportional to the level of the output high voltage.
Also to be found within the box are the conductors needed for
providing the electrical connections between the functional elements
and for electrically connecting the HT power supply device to the X-ray
tube.
All the functional elements need to be supported within the box
and electrically insulated from one another.
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BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTON
The subject of the present invention is therefore a support for
the functional elements of an HT unit which both provides support for
the functional elements and electrically insulates them and which
contains the minimum number of parts, is easy to manufacture, and of
a low cost.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular
support for a high-voltage power supply unit in which all of the
functional components of the high-voltage power supply are supported
by the modular support which is made of an electrically insulating
material, the modular support together with the functional components
being arranged in a single earthed metal box filled with an electrically
insulating fluid that encourages heat conduction.
Another subject of the present invention is a support for the
functional elements of an HT unit as described earlier, on which there
are grouped all the components of an HT transformer, the boards of
the voltage doubling/rectifier circuits, the boxes of resistors of the
voltage divider and output-protection resistors.
A further subject of the present invention is a support as defined
earlier, which also incorporates an HT output unit that groups together
the HT output receptacles, the filament transformers and, in some
cases, the HT output commutator.
The above objectives are achieved by providing a modular
support for an HT power supply unit comprising housings with
electrically insulating walls and intended to accommodate functional
elements of the HT power supply unit, wherein the electrically
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insulating walls of the housings are formed of two protruding walls
which have overlapping complementary inclined surfaces.
In one embodiment of the invention, the modular support for an
HT power supply unit, particularly for powering an X-ray tube,
comprises:
- a central module formed of two parts with identical
configurationsand comprising base and walls protruding
a from the
base, thesetwo parts beingjoined together by their
bases
symmetricallywithrespect central vertical axis of
to a the central
module; and
- a first end module and a second end module with identical
configurations each comprising a base and walls protruding from the
base, the said protruding walls of the central module and of the first
and second modules having inclined complementary surfaces so that
when each of the first and second end modules is assembled with one
of the parts of the central module, the protruding walls of the
corresponding housings of the modules fit closely together by the
overlapping of the complementary inclined surfaces to form housings
intended to accommodate functional elements of the HT power supply
unit. This thus provides a support and appropriate electrical insulation
for the functional elements of the HT power supply unit which are
arranged in the housings.
. In general, the modular support defines housings for a
magnetic core for the primary and secondary windings of an HT
transformer, housings for the voltage doubling/rectifier circuits and
housings for the resistors of a voltage divider.
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Quite obviously, the modules of the modular support have the
passages needed for electrically connecting the various functional
elements.
In another embodiment of the invention, the modular support
5 comprises a fourth module comprising a first part and a second part of
complementary configurations each comprising a base and walls
protruding from the base and defining housings for functional elements
of an HT output unit, the first part of this fourth module being joined by
its base to a lateral wall of the central module, and when the first and
second parts of this fourth module are joined together, the
corresponding protruding walls of the parts of the fourth module
overlap and electrically insulate the functional elements from the output
unit.
In general, this fourth module comprises housings for the ~HT
output receptacles and housings for the transformers of the filament for
powering the cathode.
Because of the overlap of the corresponding protruding walls
that define the housings, the length of the creepage lines is increased
and therefore the insulation of the housings is increased and the risk of
arcing is decreased.
As mentioned earlier, the protruding walls of the modules have
inclined complementary overlapping surfaces, that is to say that the
thickness of these walls decrease uniformly from the base of the
module or from the module part as far as their free end. This then
makes it easier for the modules and module parts to fit together and for
them to be manufactured by molding, particularly facilitating mold
release. More important still, the presence of these complementary
inclined surfaces ensure a fit that from both the electrical point of view
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and the mechanical point of view is adequate irrespective of the
manufacturing tolerances (diameter and height) of the protruding walls.
Furthermore, as the final insulating wall of the housings consists
of two separate walls which overlap, the reliability of the electrical
insulation is increased even if there should be a region in one of the
protruding walls which is non-uniform from the dielectric point of view,
because the probability of two non-uniform regions on each of the
overlapping walls finding themselves facing one another is practically
non-existent.
As a preference, the modules and module parts are molded
from a plastic.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1, an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a
modular support;
Figure 2, an exploded perspective view of another embodiment
of a modular support; and
Figure 3, a diagrammatic view of protruding walls for the
modular supports.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure 1, an example of a modular support
according to the invention has been depicted and comprises a central
module 10 of parallelepipedal overall shape and two end modules 20,
20' of parallelepipedal overall shape.
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The central module 10 is made up of two parts 11, 11' of
molded plastic, of parallelepipedal overall shape and with identical
configurations.
Each of the parts 11, 11' of the central module 10 comprises a
flat base 12, 12' of rectangular overall shape comprising two circular
openings intended, as will be seen later, to allow the legs of a
magnetic core 40a, 40b to pass.
Cylindrical walls, of which only the cylindrical walls 13' of the
part 11' of the central module 10 are visible in Figure 1 protrude from
the bases 12, 12' and each surround circular openings. The cylindrical
walls in part define a housing for the magnetic core 40a, 40b and the
primary windings (not depicted) of an HT transformer.
A semi -cylindrical wall 14, 14' protrudes from the bases 12, 12'
and surrounds each of the cylindrical walls thus forming between them,
in part, housings intended to accommodate the secondary windings
(not depicted) of the HT transformer.
Each of the parts 11, 11' of the central module 10 also
comprises, at one of their transverse ends, walls which protrude from
the base 12, 12' and partly define a housing of parallelepipedal overall
shape 15, 15' intended to accommodate the voltage doubling/rectifier
circuits.
Each part 11, 11' comprises a rectangular end wall 16' (only one
of these being visible in Figure 1 ) and a rectangular lateral wall 17, 1 T
at the opposite transverse end to the housings 15, 15'. The end walls
of the parts 11, 11' of the central module and the lower ends of the
semi -cylindrical walls 14, 14' are spaced apart so that they in part form
housings 18' (visible only on the part 11') for accommodating voltage
doubling/rectifier circuits.
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The parts 11, 11' of the central module are joined together back
to back by their bases 11, 11' and symmetrically with respect to a
central vertical axis of the central module 10.
The end modules 20, 20' will now be described. Given that
these modules have identical configurations, a description will be given
of just one of these modules, it being understood that this description
applies in full to the other module.
As can be seen in Figure 1, the module 20 has a
parallelepipedal overall shape and a configuration that complements
that of the part 12 of the central module 10.
More specifically, the end module 20 comprises a base 21 of
rectangular overall shape comprising a recessed part 22 for
accommodating a transverse leg 40b of the magnetic core.
Two symmetric circular openings 23 are formed in the base 21
at the recessed part 22.
Each of the circular openings 23 is surrounded by a cylindrical
wall 24 protruding from the base and complementing the cylindrical
walls of the part 11 of the central module 10 and which partially define
a housing for the magnetic core 40a, 40b. Likewise, each of the
cylindrical walls 24 is surrounded by a semi-cylindrical wall 25
protruding from the base 21, complementing the semi-cylindrical
walls 14 of the central module 10 and, with the cylindrical protruding
wall 24, defining an annular housing for a secondary winding of the HT
transformer.
The end module 20 also has at one of its transverse ends, walls
which protrude from the base 21 and in part define a housing of
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parallelepipedal overall shape 26 intended to accommodate
voltage-doubling/rectifier circuits.
The end module 20 further comprises an end wall 27 of
rectangular overall shape and a U-shaped lateral wall 28 at the
opposite transverse end to the parallelepipedal housing 26.
As is shown in Figure 1, the end modules 20, 20' are sized so
that they fit over the corresponding parts 11, 11' of the central
module l0. In particular, the protruding walls of the end modules
20, 20', when the modules are joined together, externally overlap the
corresponding protruding walls of the central module 10.
Quite obviously, the reverse could also be produced. If
necessary, the modules could be fixed together by screws, for example
screws made of plastic.
As mentioned earlier, the corresponding protruding walls have
inclined complementary surfaces which allow these walls to fit together
closely by overlapping to form the corresponding housings for the
functional elements.
Figure 2 depicts another embodiment of a modular support
according to the invention, which differs from the modular support of
Figure 1 merely in the addition of an additional fourth module 50, for
accommodating the HT output functional elements of an HT power
supply unit.
As can be seen in Figure 2, one of the end modules 20' fits onto
part of the central module 10 with part 40a of the magnetic core
arranged in its housing. This Figure 2 also depicts the secondary
windings 41 a, 41 b of the HT transformer and the
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voltage-doubling/rectifier circuits 42a, 42b facing their respective
housings.
The fourth module 50 in the embodiment of Figure 2 comprises
a first part 51 and a second part 60. The first part, of parallelepipedal
5 overall shape, comprises a rectangular base 52, two semi-circular -
walls 53 protruding from the base 52 and partially defining housings for
accommodating transformers for the filament and walls 54, 55 partially
defining housings of parallelepipedal overall shape one on each side of
the semi-circular walls 53 and intended to accommodate HT outlet
10 receptacles 60.
The second part 51', of parallelepipedal overall shape,
comprises a rectangular base 52' provided with two cavities 56' that
correspond to the two housings for transformers for the filament.
Semi-circular walls 53' protrude from the base 52' in line with
the cavities 56'. Walls 54', 55' protruding from the base 52' in register
with the walls 54, 55 of the first part 51 of the fourth module 50 also
partially define the parallelepipedal housings one on either side of the
cavities 56'.
The cavities 56' are intended to allow stirrup-shaped magnetic
cores 61 to be inserted.
The two parts 51, 51' of the fourth module are fitted together as
described for the modules of the embodiment in Figure 1, and the
fourth module 50 is connected to the other modules along an
appropriate side by any appropriate means, for example fitting,
bonding or screwing.
The parts of this fourth module are preferably made of molded
plastic.
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Figure 3 diagrammatically depicts the configuration of the
protruding walls defining the housings for the functional elements
according to the invention.
As this Figure 3 shows, the protruding walls 1, 2 are of tapering
shape, with a thickness that decreases from the bases 3, 4 from which
they protrude, as far as their free ends. As can be seen in Figure 3, the
complementary protruding walls 1, 2 have complementary inclined
surfaces, 5, 6 intended to overlap when the modules are fitted
together. This configuration of the protruding walls 1, 2 not only
encourage their overlapping and fitting and makes the molding
operations, particularly mold release, easier, but also improves the
electrical insulation between the housings by increasing the length of
the creepage lines, thus reducing the risk of arcing.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, this configuration of the
protruding walls makes it possible to obtain the desired amount of
insulation irrespective of the manufacturing tolerances on the modules.
The modules also comprise the passages and cutouts needed
for accommodating all the interconnecting connectors, thus avoiding
the concentration of strong electric fields and therefore the risks of arc
discharges while reducing manufacturing costs.
Although bi-polar units have been depicted in the embodiments,
the invention is also applicable to mono-pole or multi-pole units.
Various modifications in structure and/or function and/or steps
may be made by one skilled in the art to the disclosed embodiments
without departing from the scope and extent of the invention.
